Why is Spa a dangerous circuit?

Every year, the world of auto and motorcycle racing learns of the death of one of their own on the Spa circuit. Very often, it is in the same corner that the driver loses their life. In the Raidillon. Here, the accidents send chills down your spine. Firstly, because it is one of the fastest corners on the calendar. Also, because visibility is reduced due to the significant elevation change.

The slope of the Raidillon is, as its name suggests, very steep. With an average gradient of 17%, it is a real wall that awaits the drivers every time. A view of the asphalt, then towards the sky, and then again on the track, bordered by dozens of trees.

Dramatic accidents

Since forever, the objective of drivers has been to take this long curve with the pedal to the metal. This has resulted in horrifying crashes, such as Jacques Villeneuve’s in 1999. Jolyon Palmer in 2016 and many others… When a driver hits here, they are often sent back onto the track after hitting the tire walls. Lando Norris can testify to this, following his track exit during qualifying in 2021.

Once at the top, the crashed car no longer appears in the field of vision of the other men attacking in the Raidillon. They can only rely on the yellow flags and the radio. But then, they need to know where the single-seater is on the tarmac in order to avoid it. This is an additional problem.

If some manage to bypass it, that’s not the case for everyone and it causes a secondary accident. This is where it becomes dramatic. Unfortunately, it was under these conditions that Anthoine Hubert lost his life in 2019.

Few solutions

So what can be done to avoid such tragedies? The organizers and owners of the circuit have racked their brains on numerous occasions. Remove the tires? Add another line? Put gravel? Expand the runoff area? Unfortunately, few things seem to work.

Should this area be completely redesigned? That’s what could work best. But at what cost? Completely redoing this turn, without taking away its mythical character, would be very expensive and above all, complicated. It would mean cutting down more trees, potentially relocating the brand new stands, and dealing with nature.

Just to remind you, a river, the Eau Rouge, runs under the circuit just before the Raidillon. Therefore, the circuit would need to be modified while taking the environment into consideration. Adding Tecpro barriers could be a solution. Even though these large inflatable structures take up space in the runoff area, they would help absorb some of the impact. And they wouldn’t have a rebound effect like with tire walls.

Even though the Spa circuit is inherently dangerous, it is still approved by the FIA.